Christmas at Toran Lake Castle
by Little Rachael
Summary: Luc hates Christmas, but the Liberation Army's leader manages to lift his spirits a little. Tir/Luc.


Luc hated Christmas.

It all seemed like a big farce to him. Peace on earth? When had the earth ever been peaceful? Goodwill to all? Why were they at war, then?

Everyone got so silly and _happy_ around Christmastime. What did they have to be happy about? Especially that McDohl kid. He had lost both Gremio and his father. So why was he smiling?

Somehow, though, he wasn't irritated with Tir. No, he was irritated with himself for not being irritated with Tir. The result was more or less the same, but as someone who was always irritated, it was important for Luc to be able to distinguish between different types of irritation.

Christmas was normally a quiet affair at on Magician's Isle. Leknaat always gave him something, an interesting book or a sweet he liked, even though he had nothing to give her in return. But he knew that in the outside world, people laughed and danced and feasted and sang songs. Hypocrites, all of them. Luc knew that the next day, they would forget all that garbage about peace and goodwill and go back to hating each other.

"Luc, humans are complex beings," Leknaat had told him when he shared these feelings with her. "They desire peace, yet fear it at the same time."

"Why would they fear it?" asked Luc, who spent his days yearning for a peace he could never have.

"Because peace means the loss of some freedoms," she had answered. "In order for peace to be obtained, humans must let go of the evil that lurks within their hearts. And as we are now, that is next to impossible."

Luc thought he understood. Humans were selfish creatures. In a peaceful world, people would have to care about everyone-not just themselves, not even just those close to them, but about everyone. What's more, humans all wanted different things. How could everyone be at peace when even members of the same family were often at odds with one another? Leknaat herself was proof of how common such disputes really were.

So when Christmastime came, Luc retreated to the room where the Tablet of Promise was kept and stayed there with only Liukan for company. He could tolerate Liukan, who rarely spoke to anyone. Even so, as Christmas drew near, the castle grew more busy, and even the third floor was soon bustling with activity.

"Oh my God, have you had one of Sir Joshua's cookies yet? They're to die for!"

"Yes, they're amazing. I never would have thought that guy could bake!"

"Well, he's had 200 years to get it right!"

Luc put his head in his hands and groaned. All that chattering was giving him a headache. "Leknaat, how could you do this to me?"

"Do what?"

Luc's head snapped up. Tir stood above him, holding a plate of cookies. "What do you want?" he asked.

"I haven't seen you in a while," Tir answered matter-of-factly. "You've been hanging around in here all this time?"

Luc shrugged. "It's the quietest place in the castle. It's the only place where I can escape all the idiocy going on everywhere else."

"Idiocy?" Tir repeated. He looked around as though it might be seeping through the cracks of the wall. "Who's acting like an idiot?"

"Everyone," Luc answered, sighing. "We're at war, and people are dying every day. But everyone's singing songs and acting all _happy_, and it's all a facade, and it pisses me off!" His voice grew louder with those final words, and it felt good to finally say it all out loud.

Tir was quiet for a moment. Then, he nodded and said, "I understand what you're saying. Nobody can deny that we're war, and that a lot of us have lost people we care about."

Luc realized that he had been insensitive. "I didn't mean to upset you." Those words were the closest he ever came to an apology.

"No, you didn't," Tir assured him. "I like you because you're so blunt."

"Hm." Luc couldn't help smiling a little. "You're only the second person who's told me that." Let him figure out who the first person was. If he really thought about it, it should be obvious.

"Anyway...Cookie?" he offered. He held out the plate. "I think they're pretty good."

"I'll pass," Luc said. "I don't care about anything that old guy has cooked."

Tir looked confused. "Old guy?"

"They're Joshua's cookies, right? Didn't he make a whole bunch that everyone's raving about?"

"Oh!" Tir laughed. "Nah, I made these myself. I didn't even hear about Joshua making cookies."

"Hmm." Luc held out his hand. "Fine, I'll try one."

Tir handed him the smallest cookie on the plate. "Just in case you don't like it."

Luc took a bite. It was good-sweet but not too sweet, and no coconut or raisins or any other crap to get in the way of its smoothness. "Not bad," he said.

Tir beamed. "I'm glad to hear it."

"So what were you going to say?" Luc asked. "You said you understood what I was saying, but you were about to disagree, weren't you?"

"Well, I think there's more to it than idiocy." Tir's face grew serious. "It's not that people don't know about all the bad things that are going on. But I think that's why everyone wants so badly to celebrate and have a good time. If we thought of nothing but war and suffering all the time, it would be too much. We wouldn't be able to go on living. So I think that if we're able to enjoy good food and listen to good music and give gifts and play games, if only for a couple of weeks, then..." His voice broke, and he covered his eyes with his hand. "Sorry."

Luc felt stupid. Why hadn't he realized? Of _course_ Tir had to keep smiling. He was the leader. If he started moping around, morale would suffer. Yet it was now obvious to Luc just how hard Tir had been working to make sure that Christmas at the castle was a happy event. Baking cookies, talking to everyone...And what had Luc done? Nothing but lock himself away and grumble about everything. Like always.

But Tir wasn't finished. He took his hand away from his eyes and looked back at Luc, smiling sadly. "This year, I lost two of the most important people in my life. One was my father, and one was like another father to me. I found myself thinking that if only I hadn't joined the Liberation Army, then Gremio and my father would still be alive."

Luc shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. But the empire isn't going to last much longer. Even without the Liberation Army, it was bound to fall sooner or later. That woman, Lady Leknaat's sister, she's just waiting for the king to kick the bucket, and who knows what'll happen after that? Whatever it is, it can't be good for Gregminster-or this country, for that matter. And if you and your father's household had stayed in the capital, you might have been caught up in all that." He sighed. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, you didn't know what was going to happen, and even if you had, you wouldn't know how to avoid it."

Tir's eyes seemed to shine with gratitude. "Thank you, Luc," he said. "The others are wrong, you know. You're really a good guy."

"Ugh. I didn't say all that just to compliment you."

"That's why it makes me so happy," Tir explained. "Anyway, I know that both my father and Gremio would have wanted me to have a good time this Christmas. I want to have enough fun for all three of us. I know that will make their spirits happy." He looked at the back of his right hand. "You know, I often sense their presence...Odessa's, too. Like they're watching over me."

Luc nodded. "The runes often contain memories of people who possessed them. And in the Soul Eater's case, it also holds on to the memories of the souls it's taken."

"I often wonder about that," Tir admitted thoughtfully. "It's kind of sad and also scary. What happened to Odessa's soul? To Gremio's? To Father's? Were they able to pass on to the afterlife? Or be reborn? Or rest in peace? Or..." He shuddered. "Or are they somehow trapped inside the rune? Are they aware of what's going on? Are they...Are they suffering in some inescapable hell? Or did the rune literally eat their souls, so that they've been digested into a state of non-existence? Maybe what I feel is just my imagination after all..."

Luc recognized the look in his eyes of one who was weary of struggling with bad thoughts. _Yes_, he thought. _It will only get worse over time, for as long as you continue to bear that rune-or any of the True Runes. _He smiled bitterly as he reflected on the visions he'd seen within his own True Rune_. But if there is anything I can say that will help you_...

"I don't know what their fate is," Luc said to him. "I suspect the only one who could tell you is the Soul Eater itself. But I don't think their presence is just your imagination. I know because-because others with True Runes have felt similar presences. Like Lady Leknaat. And I don't think they're suffering, either."

Tir looked surprised. "Why do you think that?"

"Because...because..." Luc thought about it, and when he realized what his reason was, he could only mumble the answer. "Because you're with them." He cleared his throat and tried to speak more clearly. "As the present master of that rune, they must feel your presence as surely as you feel theirs. And-and if you're with them..." His face grew hot as he turned to look the other way. "I guess they'll be all right."

When he looked back at Tir, Tir was grinning again, a look of amusement on his face. "Don't worry," he assured Luc. "I won't tell anyone how nice you really are. I know you've got a reputation to uphold." He looked down at the plate. "And I'm really happy you enjoyed my cookies. I'll bring you some more tomorrow."

Luc was surprised when he realized that he had eaten every cookie on the plate. He knew his face must be bright red. He coughed and muttered, "I don't need any more...Hey, stay in this room for a minute. I have to go get something, but I'll be right back. You hear me? Don't move from this spot." He stood up and ran to his room.

Luc's belongings were few, and the number he had brought to Toran Lake Castle were fewer. When he opened the small box where he kept all of his things, he dug to the bottom and pulled out an old, dog-eared book of puzzles Leknaat had given him when he was a child. It had held a lot of sentimental value for him, but now seemed like the right time to pass it on.

Luc liked puzzles. For as long as he had studied under Leknaat, they had served both as an escape from the thoughts that plagued his idle mind and as a creative outlet for energy that would otherwise turn destructive. But he had constructed the puzzles in this book enough times that he could do them all by memory now, and it seemed to him as though he had just been holding on to it until he could pass it on to someone else.

He ran back down to where Tir was waiting and presented it to him. "Here. And it doesn't matter to me whether or not you use it. And of course, I outgrew it ages ago, but maybe you'll find it to be more of a challenge."

Tir's eyes widened as though Luc had given him a pot of gold. "Wow, for real? I can have this?"

"Of course. I wouldn't say I'm giving it to you if I were going to ask for it back."

"Thank you!" Tir stood up and patted Luc on the shoulder. "I'll take good care of it. And when the war is-"

"Don't say it!" Luc interrupted. "It's bad luck. I know you're too busy to make any of those puzzles right now. Do it later, when you're not busy." He smiled, and this time, he didn't feel any bitterness. "If you can, that is."

Tir nodded. "I will! I've got to go deliver some more cookies, but I'll come see you again tomorrow." He headed for the door, then turned around at the last minute. "And Luc?"

"Hmm?"

Tir grinned again, that pure, guileless grin that Luc would have hated on anyone else. "Merry Christmas."

Luc couldn't bring himself to return the greeting. "...Yeah. Thanks."

Tir winked at him. "I like you a lot, Luc. I really do."

"...Uh-huh. Thanks, I guess," Luc mumbled, staring at the floor.

It was embarrassing, he thought later, that he had let his guard down around Tir. But he knew that the leader of the Liberation Army would make good on his promise to keep that weakness a secret. After all...

He looked at his right hand_. In just one way, I understand you better than anyone else. But I pray that you will never understand me in that same way_.

For now, though, maybe something could be gained from their conversation tonight. Maybe it was possible to have a little bit of fun with another person every now and then.

That night, Luc slept peacefully.

THE END


End file.
